Neo-Nazi tries to run over Antifa protesters—police release him with no charges

The driver of a truck who twice attempted to run over antifascist protesters in Vancouver, WA this weekend was detained by police, but not arrested.

Antifascist activists were protesting a rally by the far-right Patriot Prayer group on Sunday in Vancouver when the truck, adorned with American flags and a Confederate flag detail, drove down a street filled with protesters. After protesters cleared a path for and hurled water bottles and small rocks at the vehicle, the driver reversed the truck and accelerated at the protesters. The crowd was forced to jump out of the way as the truck reversed at a high speed for almost a full block. The truck’s horn, which plays part of the Confederate anthem “Dixie,” can be heard in witness videos.

According to Willamette Week, the protesters then shifted their direction and went down a different street, but the truck appeared and cut them off at another intersection.

Close call. A truck just almost drove through a crowd of people. Saw some dive out of the way. Police stopped the driver pic.twitter.com/3wqfG7x79t

At one point, the Oregonian reported, the truck ran through a red light, stopping as a car attempted to veer out of the way. Police then handcuffed the driver and detained him for several minutes before releasing him. He has not yet been charged or even ticketed, though it’s under review by the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s office.

Though no one was hurt in the incident, it was reminiscent of a scene from last month’s violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA, when a neo-Nazi plowed his car into a crowd of antifascist protesters, killing one and injuring 19 others.

Subsequently, the man believed to be the driver of the truck posted a Facebook video of himself on top of the truck saying, “no jail for this patriot.”

This wasn’t the only truck-related attack that took place during the protest, as a vehicle full of “Proud Boys” drove close to protesters, blasting them with pepper spray. Police stopped the vehicle of far-right provocateurs, but did not detain them. Shortly after however, it was reported that the same truck crashed into a police vehicle.